Service vehicles are used by a variety of businesses for providing services to customers. A service vehicle usually is a truck of some type, with a truck bed for carrying cargo and storage areas mounted on both sides of the bed. The storage areas are generally metal enclosures called “side packs,” with doors for accessing various compartments that can hold or store tools, repairs, supplies, etc. The doors are generally equipped with locks to deter theft of the contents of the compartments.
Often, the side packs are constructed with a tubular or other type of frame substructure, with sheet metal welded thereto. Each panel of the sheet steel is welded to the frame substructure, as are the compartment dividers. While this type of manufacturing technique results in a sturdy and reliable side pack, there are many piece parts that make up the side pack, and substantial labor is involved in cutting the parts from stock material, and in assembling and welding the parts together.
From the foregoing, it can be seen that a need exists for a new and more efficient method for manufacturing side packs for a service vehicle.